The Lord brought me to Psalm 83 this morning.

It’s an intense Psalm, isn’t it?

It’s very real in the way the psalmist has an open and honest heart-to-heart with God about his concerns…

“Don’t you hear the tumult and commotion of your enemies? Don’t you see what they are doing, these proud men who hate the Lord?”

“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!”

There have been times in 2020, that it’s felt a lot like this…

In my bible, the NKJV, the title of Psalm 83 is:

“Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel”

In the Good News Translation, verses 1-4 read like this:

“O God, do not keep silent;
    do not be still, do not be quiet!
² Look! Your enemies are in revolt,
    and those who hate you are rebelling.
³ They are making secret plans against your people;
    they are plotting against those you protect.
⁴ “Come,” they say, “let us destroy their nation,
    so that Israel will be forgotten forever.”

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“O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive when we pray. Answer us! Deliver us! ² Don’t you hear the tumult and commotion of your enemies? Don’t you see what they are doing, these proud men who hate the Lord? ³ They are full of craftiness and plot against your people, laying plans to slay your precious ones. ⁴ “Come,” they say, “and let us wipe out Israel as a nation—we will destroy the very memory of her existence.” ⁵ This was their unanimous decision at their summit conference—they signed a treaty to ally themselves against Almighty God…”—Psalm 83:1-5 The Living Bible Translation

As I read this, I get a sense of, “this guy totally gets what we are going through right now, in a sense… the way he is talking with God is how I’ve felt at times while in the middle of this whole thing that’s going down in our nation and in our world right now.

And it’s like I begin to hear a conversation…

Me in 2020: “O God! Won’t You do something? You’re our only hope! Deliver us!“

(And it’s like I heard Him say, “I am. I am working behind the scenes in the place of unseen.”)

“Clearly, you are a God who works behind the scenes, God of Israel, Savior God.“—Isaiah 45:15

Me in 2020: “O God! Don’t You see what our enemy is plotting?“

(and He says, “I see all things, nothing is hidden from My sight.“)

“Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”—Jeremiah 23:24

“For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.“—Jeremiah 16:17

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”—Proverbs 15:3

“Would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.“—Psalm 44:21

And in the Passion Translation Psalm 83 reads like this:

“All your enemies are stirred up in an uproar!
They despise you, Lord.
In their defiant arrogance they rise up
to host their secret council against your people.
They conspire together to come and harm
your cherished ones—your hidden ones.
⁴ Our enemies keep saying,
“Now is the time to wipe Israel off the map.
We’ll destroy even the memory of her existence!”
⁵ They’ve made their pact, consulting and conspiring,
aligning together in their covenant against God.”—Psalm 83:2-5

And He says…

“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.“—Jeremiah 23:23-24

And the Psalm…

¹³ O my God, blow them away like dust; like chaff before the wind— ¹⁴ as a forest fire that roars across a mountain. ¹⁵ Chase them with your fiery storms, tempests, and tornados. ¹⁶ Utterly disgrace them until they recognize your power and name, O Lord. ¹⁷ Make them failures in everything they do; let them be ashamed and terrified ¹⁸ until they learn that you alone, Jehovah, are the God above all gods in supreme charge of all the earth.“

And here it is…

“May they know that you alone are the Lord,
    supreme ruler over all the earth.“

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.“—Isaiah 40:28-31

Thank You, Father. ? You’ve got this. And Your plans are already in place. You’re aware of everything. You see all things. Nothing is hidden from Your sight. But I’m thankful that we get to have honest and vulnerable conversations with You in the secret place—we get to ask You the questions on our hearts. We get to process things with you, and You’ll help us through the questions as You remind us of what is real and what is true.

And the truth is, You see, and You know, and You already have Your perfect plans so perfectly established into place. ☀️

May we align with You, may we join with what You are doing in the earth, God!

“And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people)…”—Ephesians 1:18 AMP

-Heather ?